Am I correct in saying that ANY iphone regardless of what network needs to be unlocked by the original owner i.e the person who bought it brand new and first registered the phone? Meaning if someone buys it locked second hand, they can't get it unlocked because their not the original owner?

Now I know it could be done via jailbreaking but I'm talking proper Apple unlocking.

Not quite true!

If you use a PAYG SIM of the work it is locked to for a while some networks will accept you as the "current owner" and will unlock it - exact policies vary by network!

Looking at Google will show some 3rd party firms that claim to have "methods" to insert an IMEI number into Apples database (which is how unlocking is done officially). I have no experience if they are reliable or not.

The easiest way is to get the original owner to do it as you say!

Yeah but let's say you buy it from someone off eBay or gumtree etc, it's abit hard getting them to do it, especially if it's a while since you got it and no longer have the persons address or phone num. For example Three told me a straight NO, they need the original owners permission, so basically it's impossible for me to unlock it then(bar those dodgy websites)

I've used these unlockers on a number of occasions without a problem. Tend to buy the service via eBay and pay with Paypal for security, but haven't been let down yet.

They are often quicker than the networks, I had a Vodafone iPad unlock about 6 hours after sending the IMEI once!

I don't think that Three gave you accurate information.

Judging by the Three website, its policy is the same as O2's and other networks': If it was not originally your device on a pay monthly contract with Three then you just get a PAYG SIM...

Three Support


If Three only unlocked devices for the original owners, then why specifically say that people without a Three account need to get a PAYG SIM? If someone had a device locked to Three but did not have a Three account, they obviously would not be the original owner...

If I bought an iPhone or iPad 2nd hand and therefore not under any Apple warranty then I'd just jailbreak it - no question.

The above (being under warranty) is the only thing that stops me from doing it.

I've always hacked my androids by rooting and modding almost as soon as I've removed them from the packaging

I also use Ebay for unlock codes, usually <£2.50, never had a problem.

Jailbreaking won't help you unlock an iPhone/iPad.

But this method is not applicable to an iPhone!! They don't use unlock codes.

The other issue with buying a second hand iPhone on ebay or the like is whether the previous user has remembered to reset it properly so you can activate it with a new Apple ID. Any device running iOS 7 onwards has this in addition to the network locking issue.

Not to mention that iphone/iPad unlock requests via the alternative unlockers on eBay is more like £20-£40.

Oh it will with the folk I'd send it to

You're not using the right hackers

This thing about the original owner needing to unlock it doesn't make any sense. So long as the phone is not barred or lost/stolen, then surely as the property has changed hands, the title passes over, one should be entitled to unlock.

If you buy a second-hand car that's had a few owners but don't have a code for the stereo, you don't go back the original owner who bought it and ask them for it, do you?! No stealership would deny you the code because you weren't the original buyer.

I can see the reason why some networks insist on having the phone on the network for x amount of months and then unlocking (like with EE/Orange/T-Mobile). But to deny unlocking because you're not the original owner is sharp practice.

In a lot of cases with ebay/Gumtree phones they're on there because the person has got a free upgrade but doesn't actually want the phone. From the phone companies perspective, if someone signed up for a new contract which includes the phone, they think it's part of a package, and so the phone is tied to that contract agreement.

It's near on impossible for them to keep tracks on the actual phone once the person has received it, but you can see why they would expect the person it was sold/provided to to be the one unlocking it. I'd also think they think it's somewhat of a safeguard against unlocking stolen phones.

While your folk might have access to unlocking systems it will still have nothing to do with jailbreaking, there is no link between jailbreaking an iphone and unlocking an iphone (and hasn't been for a number of years).

Phone companies (including, despite what the OP was told!!!, 3 themselves - according to their website) want you to register a PAYG SIM for an iPhone (which they would presumably also check has not been blacklisted) to give them some confidence that they know something about the person who wants it unlocked!

Yes. There's not much they can do if the phone is sold on, but they can't tell if a phone has been legitimately sold on or stolen and used/sold on, so this is just a way of covering their behinds a bit.

It doesn't help that there are still some amoral people who will sell their phone and them try to claim at as lost on their insurance, causing it to be blacklisted.

Apart from a worldwide database of phones and their current owners (which isn't going to happen) I don't know what the answer is.